In 2014, I will be 27. Barack Obama, should he be re-elected, will be less than three years from his constitutionally-mandated removal from office. And Trey Lyles will begin his freshman year in Bloomington.

The 6-foot-9 forward from Indianapolis’ Tech High School, already considered one of the state’s top prospects in the 2014 class, joined friend and AAU teammate James Blackmon Jr. on Sunday when he gave Indiana a verbal commitment. Our fellows at the Hoosier Scoop have the details.

Lyles joins Blackmon, a long-armed guard who plays for his father — former Kentucky standout James Blackmon Sr. — at Bishop Luers in Fort Wayne. Some interesting stuff from Hugh Kellenberger’s post:

“It is what Trey wanted to do,” said Tom Lyles, his father. “He has been talking about it for a while. I had told him, ‘No, you don’t want to do that for a while.’ But he was adamant. Me and him and his mom talked about it and he proved positive that he wanted to play for coach Crean and IU.”

We’ll try to get in touch with Lyles and his family in the next day or so. In the meantime, feel free to chew on this and leave your thoughts below. Hope your Sunday was enjoyable.

Great point! I bleed Indiana Red-Crimson! DJ White is a Hoosier, I follow his career; May, Oden and Conley are X-IN HS players I no longer follow!

Outoftheloop

And to get such elevation from wooden shoes…truly impressive!

Outoftheloop

Kelin, are you going to incorporate James and Trey into your ever changing name?

Outoftheloop

At least it is NOT Purdue or Nebraska!

Outoftheloop

I think that it is great to have IU dominant once again in the state of IN and paying lots of attention to the Indy Public School kids (like Mike Woodson, Landon Turner, Big George, Big Steve, etc.) as well as the suburban kids.

MillaRed

I’m not sure anyone claims these kids are “slam dunks.” This situation is
quite simple really.

Look at Indiana basketball 2007 to present. Ok, now look at the two 2012
commits. Now look at the two 2014 commits.

There is a lot going on here in a very, very short amount of time. 2014,
2056 I don’t give a crap. It’s worth the gamble. Even if they end up being
two top 100 kids, I am down. The bloodlines are there.

No offense friend, but Purdue fans, Illinois fans, Mich St fans…….yes,
yes, yes, they are all taking notice. Fact is. IU is back. These recent
commits are scratching the surface on what is really going down in Boomtown!

Can you feel it? CAN YOU FEEEEEEEEEEL IT????? IT’S RATTLING MY
BONES!!!!!!!!!!

GO IU!

Diesel

I think everyone is misreading HoosierFanAttic’s comment. He says, “By 8th grade, coaches know who will be a college star. Example: Damon Bailey” It doesn’t appear to me he is questionning the verbal of Blackmon Jr or Lyles.

CreanMe

I’m not knocking the gamble – IU has to do something – just the way it’s being percieved on this board.

Some very interesting things are happening in college bball because of the 1 and done rule, and we are just seeing the beginning of it. I think Duke and Butler last year are indicative of, as long as that rule is in place, a shift toward championship teams being those with relatively less blue-chip talent than the Kentucky’s and North Carolina’s, and simply the luck or insight to balance takent with seniority. More than ever, teams with 3 or 4 starting upperclassmen who can play and play together, even if they aren’t all NBA first-rounders, are going to be the top dogs because the first-rounders are becoming disruptive to team chemistry and really only have their sights set on the NBA after a year.

Crean seems to be trying to break into the Calipari game by going young, and that might backfire in one of two ways – they’re so young they don’t pan out and have serious crushed-ego issues, or they do pan out and because of all the hype at so young an age they don’t give a lick about anything but moving on to some dough.

Painter seems to be making a conscious effort to get kids in the 50-100 ranked range (he purposely gave up on Chandler and Teague early because of their egos) because he knows they’ll stay for 2-4 years, and knows that by then they’ll be better than the blue-chip froshes.

Just my take. I hope IU gets back on track because I miss the rivalry, but I also hope they don’t turn into the Kentucky of the B10.

Anonymous

How about making him part 2 (the part with the rear legs) of a horse pulling a chariot?

MillaRed

Sorry but I am chuckling big time over here. You are well-spoken, have a
good basketball IQ etc. But to throw in a Calipari comparison here totally
wrecks your credibility. That is just bitter. Seriously.

Crean is raking in talent. Is some of it four years away? Sure. But Calipari
is being chased out of programs regularly. I’m not going to elaborate on
that any further.

In fact, I like Coach Painter. What is not to like? However, I would argue
that Purdue has exactly what you are describing as the recipe for success.
Multiple upperclassmen returnees ranked between 30-90 nationally as
freshmen.

So, go get it done. I’ll be right here waiting for you in 6 months. If
Purdue does not go beyond the Sweet 16 this season that, my friend, in
Hoosierland, is a failure with that level of talent and continuity on the
floor. (see Coverdale, Fife, Jeffries and others)

Get er done Matt, or you will forever be a good coach, good recruiter with a
lot fewer banners than your southern neighbor.

MillaRed

Sorry but I am chuckling big time over here. You are well-spoken, have a
good basketball IQ etc. But to throw in a Calipari comparison here totally
wrecks your credibility. That is just bitter. Seriously.

Crean is raking in talent. Is some of it four years away? Sure. But Calipari
is being chased out of programs regularly. I’m not going to elaborate on
that any further.

In fact, I like Coach Painter. What is not to like? However, I would argue
that Purdue has exactly what you are describing as the recipe for success.
Multiple upperclassmen returnees ranked between 30-90 nationally as
freshmen.

So, go get it done. I’ll be right here waiting for you in 6 months. If
Purdue does not go beyond the Sweet 16 this season that, my friend, in
Hoosierland, is a failure with that level of talent and continuity on the
floor. (see Coverdale, Fife, Jeffries and others)

Get er done Matt, or you will forever be a good coach, good recruiter with a
lot fewer banners than your southern neighbor.

Not bitta, milla. I’m not talking about the Calipari that is a cheat, I’m talking about the Calipari that chases the 1 and dones and because of it will never win a championship.

And it’s not just Purdue that need be the proof to my thesis, although I do think there’s a very very good chance, barring injury, that they win a championship this year. No team without 3 starting upperclassmen is going to win a championship, and it just so happens that there are less and less of them in the college game that came out of highschool with NBA stars in their eyes.

I don’t want to overstate my case – Crean obviously doesn’t have championships to build on the backs of freshmen yet. All I’m saying is that offering a blue-chipper as an 8th grader reeks of the mindset that one has to rack up top ten recruits every year in order to win. It ain’t so – and in fact operating from that mindset may be becoming a detriment.

MillaRed

Very well then. Like I said, let’s re-visit this in 6 months, after you are
bounced by Albany State in the 2nd round.

Kidding…..kidding…….kind of. he he he

Casey

No need to entertain everything you have written. However, if seeking out commits from freshman makes your program seem desperate and creepy…whats worse? Seeking out a commit from a freshman (Crean) or seeking out a commitment from a freshman when you know you stand no chance of landing him (Painter)?

Casey

No need to entertain everything you have written. However, if seeking out commits from freshman makes your program seem desperate and creepy…whats worse? Seeking out a commit from a freshman (Crean) or seeking out a commitment from a freshman when you know you stand no chance of landing him (Painter)?

Anonymous

I don’t think Crean is chasing every 8th grader out there. I think these two are special circumstances–1.) they are both in-state kids; 2.) they are kids with coaches for fathers who understand the game, take academics seriously, have undergone the recruiting process; 3.) the talent level is obvious, not just a big enough to overpower guys who may catch up some day.
I’d question whether Painter backed off Teague due to attitude or due to the fact that he saw the writing on the wall and figured he had no real shot. Chandler you could be correct on (I think that guy, even more so than Teague, has got a chance to be real trouble for whomever ends up with him.)

Anonymous

I don’t think Crean is chasing every 8th grader out there. I think these two are special circumstances–1.) they are both in-state kids; 2.) they are kids with coaches for fathers who understand the game, take academics seriously, have undergone the recruiting process; 3.) the talent level is obvious, not just a big enough to overpower guys who may catch up some day.
I’d question whether Painter backed off Teague due to attitude or due to the fact that he saw the writing on the wall and figured he had no real shot. Chandler you could be correct on (I think that guy, even more so than Teague, has got a chance to be real trouble for whomever ends up with him.)

Anonymous

They don’t mention him in the list of schools, but if you notice they also don’t have any mention of IU in his list of unofficial visits, and we all know there have been at least a couple of them so don’t get too worried about ESPN.

Anonymous

Is this as a walk-on or scholarship?

Yogi Kelin Zeller

Walk on home games only……good for him

HoosierNshaker

Get this PurDOUCHEbag off of here. Someone is obviously getting a little butt hurt over a “little” in-state recruiting. I applaud what Painter has done in going after 50-100 range players and developing them for 4 years. But let’s face it PU will always be IU’s red headed step child when it comes to basketball in the Hoosier state. Crean is obviously recruiting blue chip in-state talent (because WE are Indiana) strategically and planning to keep them in a 4 year system (for multiple championship runs). ei Trey Lyles is going to be the Christian Watford replacement at the wing for his system. You can tell from interviews with his father that his son is incredibly knowledgeable of the game and has researched the “roots” of the game of basketball.

I take it the research of all the great players were wearing cream and crimson and NEVER black and gold!

HoosierNshaker

They also list Notre Dame as of “high” interest and seems to be the “hot topic” on ESPN with Yogi. Also says Mike Brey has visited and made an offer to Yogi. In my opinion Mike Brey is the same as John McLeod as far as coaching quality…and the guy is a skeez ball. Last rumor in South Bend was he was having threesomes with washed up local TV anchors.

I followed this line of logic, and though there’s some sense to it, I do have to disagree. For one thing, there’s no way to know these kids are one and done. It sounds as if they have very solid foundations at home, and perhaps a degree would be more important to them than you suppose. For another, I disagree that Crean must necessarily be following the mindset that one and done players are the only way to get to where we need to go. Crean’s pursuit of these players is a natural reaction to the fact that he’s rebuilding this program from literally nothing. The cupboard was bare when he started and no major recruit even wanted to hear from Indiana. The solution, then? Start from the ground up. Get in early with the next few years of talent. Sell the school, its tradition, and its newfound stability under its new coach. Crean did not have the luxury of waiting until these guys hit sophomore or junior year, because he didn’t have a program that could recruit a 5 star player at the time. With the positive momentum around the program now as a result of these commitments, maybe that’s changed. I submit, though, that all Crean was doing was recruiting the high level talent he could still recruit, in lieu of the talent that already had Roy Williams and Bill Self and Coach K in their ears.

I’d be interested to know if these commitments are concerning to Purdue fans about their position in in-state recruiting.

Anonymous

Don’t think so. A friend and I happen to run into him in Indy during the final four that year and had the good fortune to talk to him at length and he did everything but say he was not offered the job. After talking with him for 15 minutes or so we told him we should leave him alone and let him go, his reply to that was ” Are you guys from Indiana”, to which we replied yes, to which he replied, ” you guys are from Indiana and don’t want to talk some more about bball, I’ve always got time to talk about bball especially Indiana bball” he then proceeded to introduce us to his assistants that were there and a couple of his players that were there. After that it left no doubt in my mind about two things, one, we have the right guy and that just reinforced what I had thought when I wanted him when MD was let go and there after, and two, if he had been offered the job before, “the unnamed one” he would have taken it.

Anonymous

or the part of what a horse leaves on the road every now and then during a parade LOL

Anonymous

See my reply to DanTheMan below

CreanMe

I’ll ignore the Shaker above – not for the derogatory statements but because I can’t really decipher his point. I think more caps would help next time…

As for what a Purdue fan thinks of the in-state grabs… Again, I’m excited for IU to get back on track so the rivalry can get going again. I’m not too concerned that Painter’s getting shut out because I think he has a different recruiting philosophy. He has I believe 3 50-120 ranked in-state guys coming in this year, and 2-3 50-100 guys, one from Indiana, one NCarolina, and one Illinois, for next year. For 2012 its the same story – 3 guys from the tri-state area in the 50 – 100 ranked range.

Painter, from what I can tell, isn’t trying to get caught up in the sleaze that inevitably follows recruiting the blue-chippers – I say inevitably because I think many coaches don’t have sleazy intentions, but get caught up (i.e. ‘Blue Chips’ movie). The only one he really has gone after is Dawson but I think that was a special case because of his Purdue ties and likeness to the Big Dog.

Painter seems to bank on his ability, in this crazy dirty college bball environment, to find diamonds in the rough of the 50 – 100 range – diamonds who will leave no question about staying 3 years and thus not attract the kind of agent / runner attention that gets a program in trouble, and who can create a team environment necessary to win a championship.

I’m not saying Crean has sold his soul by going after Lyles, just that it might be an early indication of him getting caught up.

CreanMe

I’ll ignore the Shaker above – not for the derogatory statements but because I can’t really decipher his point. I think more caps would help next time…

As for what a Purdue fan thinks of the in-state grabs… Again, I’m excited for IU to get back on track so the rivalry can get going again. I’m not too concerned that Painter’s getting shut out because I think he has a different recruiting philosophy. He has I believe 3 50-120 ranked in-state guys coming in this year, and 2-3 50-100 guys, one from Indiana, one NCarolina, and one Illinois, for next year. For 2012 its the same story – 3 guys from the tri-state area in the 50 – 100 ranked range.

Painter, from what I can tell, isn’t trying to get caught up in the sleaze that inevitably follows recruiting the blue-chippers – I say inevitably because I think many coaches don’t have sleazy intentions, but get caught up (i.e. ‘Blue Chips’ movie). The only one he really has gone after is Dawson but I think that was a special case because of his Purdue ties and likeness to the Big Dog.

Painter seems to bank on his ability, in this crazy dirty college bball environment, to find diamonds in the rough of the 50 – 100 range – diamonds who will leave no question about staying 3 years and thus not attract the kind of agent / runner attention that gets a program in trouble, and who can create a team environment necessary to win a championship.

I’m not saying Crean has sold his soul by going after Lyles, just that it might be an early indication of him getting caught up.

Panther1

I like Cody Zeller but everyone on here seems obsessed with him coming to I.U. Unless he is so much better than his brothers, he will never play a minute in the NBA. I may be wrong but cannot see him being so much of a program changer like so many on here seem to think he is going to be.

MillaRed

I tend to agree with you. But let’s be careful, we might have to dodge a few
ITH eggs to discuss such blasphemy.
Cody may be better than his brothers. He seems to have “it.” Thus far his
brothers have not done much to get excited about.
I would love to have Cody, I think he is a player that can really crash the
boards. Something we haven’t done well since DJ left.
On the grand scale, CZ’s recruitment has become somewhat iconic. Whereas I
am in a position I will no longer set myself up for s big letdown.

Hey Cody, if you are out there, don’t get me wrong. We want you to be a
Hoosier. But only if you want to be 😉

Go IU!

MillaRed

However…………………….

When Cody is a sophomore, and he’s everything we think he could be in an IU
uniform………….

Jordy SR
Creek SR
Watford SR
Zeller SO
Elston SR

Will & VO JRs

Jurkin & Buss FR

Um…..yes……me likey long time.

Anonymous

that’s fine if PU wants to recruit mid level talent and try to win championships that way, but unfortunately there haven’t been many recent schools that have gone this route and won a national championship. The Dukes, North Carolinas, Kansas, Floridas, UCONNS, and soon to be IUs have your so called top tier “blue chip” players and they usually win.

ArtistFormerlyKnownAs_Aceman07

Yeah, but Vaden came to Indiana basically because of Davis so he may have never been here. Basset for that matter. If you stop and think about it the team would have probably been completely different.